ITIA CEO insists ‘rules were respected’ in handling of Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek doping cases
The CEO of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has come out in defence of the organisation and doping procedures amid the ongoing fallout from Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek’s cases.
Both Sinner and Swiatek, Grand Slam champions who were ranked world No 1 at points during 2024, found themselves at the centre of drug testing controversy last season.
Sinner twice tested positive for banned steroid clostebol in March 2024, with the ITIA handing him no suspension in August 2024, finding the Italian to have been of “no fault”.
The severity of Sinner’s sanction was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in September 2024, and the case was set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) this April.
However, it was announced last month that Sinner and WADA had settled outside of court, with the 23-year-old now serving a three-month suspension.
Swiatek tested positive for TMZ in August 2024 and was ultimately handed a one-month suspension by the ITIA, having been found to be of “no significant fault” in her case.
Both Sinner and Swiatek argued that contamination was the cause of their doping violations and successfully appealed against their provisional suspensions, allowing them to compete while investigations were ongoing.
This was the bone of contention for many when criticising the ITIA’s handling of the cases, something which CEO Karen Moorhouse was keen to dismiss.
In quotes reported by Ubitennis, Moorhouse insisted that the “rules were respected” in both cases and that both players had the right to appeal their provisional suspensions within a 10-day period.
“It was mistakenly believed that we were announcing positive tests, when in fact we were announcing provisional suspensions,” she said. “In both the case of Sinner – and in that of Swiatek – the rules were respected.
“The players filed an appeal against the provisional suspension within the 10-day period provided for by our regulations and, since the appeal was successful, the provisional suspensions were not made public.
“Some sports, such as athletics, decide to immediately announce provisional suspensions. Others, especially team sports, never announce them.
“Tennis, for now, has given itself the ten-day rule; we’ll see, in the future this rule could also change.”
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Sinner’s case in particular has attracted huge attention, with the reigning Australian Open and US Open currently banned until May 2025.
The Italian successfully argued in his initial case with the ITIA by claiming that he had accidently been contaminated by former physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi.
Naldi reportedly used trofodermin, a spray containing clostebol, on a cut on his finger before massaging Sinner without using gloves; the world No 1 would test positive on March 10th and March 18th.
Both Naldi and fitness coach Umberto Ferrara, who reportedly purchased the spray, left Sinner’s team last August once the initial ruling had been announced.
Moorhouse further revealed that there had been no justification to prosecute either Naldi or Ferrara due to a lack of “intentionality” with the contamination.
She added: “There was no justification for prosecuting any member of his [Sinner’s] entourage, because the assumption, namely the intentionality of taking doping substances, was missing.”
Sinner is set to return to action at the Italian Open in Rome, which begins on May 7th – just three days after his suspension ends.
Meanwhile, Swiatek, who completed her suspension in December 2024, is currently in action in Indian Wells.
The world No 2 is in quarter-final action against Zheng Qinwen on Thursday.
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